Ella and Luke are two high school students hired to perform as costumed characters in the Disney World theme park in Orlando, Florida when the regularElla and Luke are two high school students hired to perform as costumed characters in the Disney World theme park in Orlando, Florida when the regular characters go on strike. Ella plays Cinderella and finds herself attracted to her handsome "Prince Charming", Mark. Luke plays Dale (of Chip and.Dale) and is involved with Cassie who plays Chip. As the summer progresses, even though Luke and Ella are involved with other people, they find themselves increasingly drawn to each other. Luke is trying to figure out what he wants his future to be after high school and Ella is trying to recover from a devastating loss.

This novel provides insight into the behind-the-scenes world of the Magic Kingdom. As anonymous fairy tale characters, they see visitors to the theme park from a unique perspective and begin to realize that life isn't always what it seems. Dream Factory is funny, humorous and a different take on the typical "coming of age" novel...more

Valerie Wagner loves the fashion industry but can't seem to find her place in that world. When she becomes the publicist for the launch of a new magazValerie Wagner loves the fashion industry but can't seem to find her place in that world. When she becomes the publicist for the launch of a new magazine, she knows she's finally found her niche. When she convinces popular advice columnist "Dear Prince Charming" (Eric) to publish his column in the new magazine, she plans a huge media event. At the last minute, Eric calls and wants to back out of the media event. He has decided to "come out of the closet" and has a new boyfriend. Afraid that his fans will not respect his advice when they learn he is gay, he convinces Valerie to substitute his best-friend, Jack, for all of the media events. Eric will continue to write the column and Jack will be the image of the column. All goes well, until Jack starts deviating from the script Valerie has written and the media start to dig deeper into Eric's history.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Full of humor, romance and very likable characters, this would be a great beach book....more